Obama talks climate change, the beauty of nature in Yosemite speech


President Obama spoke of environmental concerns and remedies in his Saturday speech to a small crowd of invited guests at Yosemite National Park.
"Climate change is no longer a threat; it is a reality," he said, touting conservation efforts of his administration. "As we look back over the last 100 years," Obama continued, referencing the National Park System's upcoming centennial anniversary, "there is plenty to celebrate about a national park system that is the envy of the world. But when we look to the next century, the next 100 years, the task of protecting our sacred spaces is even more important."
Obama also talked of Yosemite's natural beauty in glowing terms, enthusing, "You can’t view this on your iPad or a flat screen. You have to breathe this in yourself. It’s a park that captures the wonders of the world."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
China’s rare earth controls
The Explainer Beijing has shocked Washington with export restrictions on minerals used in most electronics
-
Quiz of The Week: 11 – 17 October
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Can bullfighting win over young Spaniards
Podcast Plus, is online fandom inherently unhealthy? And is Putin’s economy running out of gas?
-
Scientists want to use enhanced rock weathering to cool the Earth
Under the radar Rock dust could trap atmospheric carbon
-
Icarus programme – the ‘internet of animals’
The Explainer Researchers aim to monitor 100,000 animals worldwide with GPS trackers, using data to understand climate change and help predict disasters and pandemics
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversal
Speed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining US
Speed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warming
Under the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
Earth's seasons are out of whack
Under the radar The seasons' unfixed nature in different regions of the planet may have impacted biodiversity and evolution
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquake
speed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
When does autumn begin?
The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns